El Alsson British & American International Schools

Welcome from Mr Malik (Head of Key Stage 3)

Dear Students and Parents,

Strong research suggests that a lifelong love of a subject is often born in KS3. The characteristics of eagerness, inquiry and energy is very present when children come close to their teenage years. Add transitioning from a different learning environment to the next and you start to see how important KS3 is; it truly starts to be recognised as the ‘formative’ years of the child.

What you can expect from El Alsson at Key Stage 3

 A holistic experience encompassing the academic and extra-curricular.

 High expectations with behavior and effort.

 Recognising students as individuals and preparing them to positively contribute to their community.

 Supportive teachers who put students and their learning at the forefront.

 An environment that helps students to smile!

What parents can do to help their child at Key Stage 3

 Ask how their day was at school; aiming to focus on the positive, learning experiences.

 Monitor their emotional development and status; are they smiling enough!

 Support your child with the high expectations of behavior and effort.

 Regularly check their Student Planner – it’s one of the main forms of communication.

 Aim to form and build the ‘3 way relationship’; Parent – Student – Teacher

We hope that the Student/Parent Handbook proves useful to you over the coming academic year. Please pay particular attention to the uniform and mobile phone policy.

The Handbook;

 Has been designed to help support you at El Alsson.

 Is an essential document and it contains information about the school day, personnel, policies, day to day planner, our expectations and other useful information.

 Can also be used by parents/guardians to get an understanding of the Secondary School.

 Should be referred to regularly throughout the year to remind yourself of school procedures.

Finally, may we wish you all a very successful year at El Alsson,

Mr Malik- Head of KS3 (Years 7-9)

Curriculum

In Key Stage 3, students study English, Mathematics, Science, French, Geography, History, Information and Communication Technology, Art, Performing Arts and Physical Education. Egyptian students also study Arabic, Religion and National Social Studies, in preparation for the Ibtediya and Adadiya examinations. Arabic as a Second Language courses are followed by foreign students. More detail about the curriculum for individual subjects can be found at Key Stage 3 curriculum online.

Assessment and Reporting

Each subject is assessed currently assessed using the National Curriculum levels as a Guide. As National Curriculum levels no longer exist, our assessment criteria has been reviewed so that it is in line with the KS3 Program of Study. These Levels are linked to subject skills and knowledge. Teachers use different forms of assessment throughout the year to measure and assess students’ progress. Parents are informed of student’s progress on five occasions during the year in two ‘short reports’, which contain Levels and Targets and information about effort, homework and behaviour, and one ‘long reports’ which also provide written information about achievement and how to meet targets. In addition, two parent review meetings will be scheduled at appropriate intervals throughout the year to support parent and student understanding and progress.

Students are also assessed in Year 7 and Year 9 using computer generated GL Assessment baseline test and GL Progress tests for Maths, Science and English. The assessments are standardised with students from schools in the UK and around the world, and give teachers information about student’s ability and skills rather than simply content knowledge.

Progression and Options Procedure

In Year 9, students and their parents are given counseling in order to choose the most appropriate GCSE courses to follow in preparation for their future entry into universities. The school has minimum requirements for progression from Key Stage 3 to Key Stage 4 which can be found below.